NEW YORK (Roc-A-Fella Records/ www.rocafella.com) - Simply put, Harlem's favorite son
Cam'ron is a
movement unto himself. From literally changing the face of urban fashion with his trendsetting, redefining sense of style and signature pink wardrobe, to his gritty, uniquely sing-song flow and mind-boggling ghetto nursery rhymes, to the secret code he's developed with his
Diplomats crew - 'Dip Set,' 'Byrd Gang,' 'Purple City,' 'Un Casa,' 'Sheist Bub,' -
'Killa Cam' has turned Harlemworld into Cam'ron's world.
Maybe Cam'ron isn't really a rapper - maybe he's a sly subversive, hard at work on a grand and inscrutable performance-art project,' the New York Times recently wrote. And ultra-hip Vice Magazine chimed in: 'Killa's "Get Em Girls" is as avant a slice of black pop as has ever been seen on BET.' But while scholarly critics may marvel at Cam's style as 'subversive' and 'avant,' the streets know better. Cam'ron is Harlem's legendary 'Killa Cam,' the pink and purple clad don of street life, the cat the ladies want to get with and the fellas want to be like. Period.
Or as Cam'ron humbly puts it, 'From the moment I wake up at like seven in the morning in my boxers and socks, I'm that fresh. I'm Cam.'
And while it's been a few since the faithful have heard from Cam solo, he's kept the streets hot with label releases from The Diplomats' 'Diplomatic Immunity' and Juelz Santana's 'From Me To U', and scores of heavy-rotation mixtapes including the most-recent 'Diplomats Vol. 5.' Now, with the December 7threlease of Purple Haze, the long-awaited follow-up to his platinum selling Roc-A-Fella debut - 2002's Come Home With Me, - Cam puts it down like only he can.
'I've been working on this for about 7-8 months. I always grow every album. I'm around nice artists like Juelz, Jim Jones, J.R. Writer and a whole bunch of new people and it keeps me on my toes,' Cam says. 'It's like tough love and that's why every album I do is better than the last one.'
From the Jeep banger 'Killa Cam,' to the certified street anthems 'Get Em Girls' and 'Shake,' to the radio hits 'Hey Lady' 'Lord You Know' featuring Jaheim and the new single, Cam's spin on the Cyndi Lauper classic 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,' Purple Haze continues Cam's legend. Featuring appearances from the entire Dip Set crew - Juelz Santana, Jim Jones and Freekey Zeekey - as well as Kanye West, Jaheim, Lil Flip, and Twista, Cam'ron delivers his most diverse, creative and cinematic album to date. In fact, Cam plans to release a 'Purple Haze' short film in conjunction with the album.
'I want you to have the visual, even if you don't see the movie,' muses Cam. 'Visualize it just by listening. Its like a verbal movie or even a book.'
Along with the Purple Haze album and film, Cam'ron has taken his purple game to the spirit world as well - liquor that is. Along with his Diplomat partner Jim Jones, Cam has launched a cognac-based purple punch appropriately dubbed Sizzurp. Sizzurp has secured national distribution and is set to launch this summer.
